![]() I admit, when I set out to write this post I had ambitions to write something similar to my post about Great Lakes Brewery. What I found was that it was much harder to find a clear timeline on the brewery but I was able to find some interesting details and I hope you enjoy this post. Nickel Brook has it's roots as a "U brew" store. Wine Experts/Better Bitters was the name and it was started in the 90s. By 2005 Nickel Brook brewery was open by John and Peter Romano. My earliest memory of the brewery was around 2008. I was introduced to Green Apple Beer at Beer Fest in Toronto. I recall that it was being poured over ice cream and being served as a float. I didn't need the ice cream, I had found a new beer that I really liked. I recall it being hard to find at the time but I was able to buy it in bottles at my local LCBO. I still credit that beer and Waterloo Dark as my 2 first craft beers that I bought on a regular basis. I recall the Gluten Free became the first beer from Nickle Brook that I saw in cans on a regular basis. Fast forward to 2014. By this time Nickle Brook's core beers were pretty easy to find in your local LCBO and beer store and the need for more space came about. They teamed up with Collective Arts in Hamilton and created "Arts and Science" in the old Lakeport Brewery building. This collaboration gave Nickel Brook a space to brew enough of their core line to meet demands while turning the original brewery into the Funk Lab. Both Breweries have grown and Nickel Brook is no longer in that facility. In fact, the location they are brewing their core beers out of currently remains one of the better-kept Ontario Craft Beer secrets. he Funk Lab is the name given to the original brewery space that is now dedicated to brewing small batch funk and sour beers. This facility also hosts their barreling program where there are 400ish whisky, wine, gin and, tequilla barrels being used to age beer. Up until 2018 the Wine Experts/Better Bitters store remained in the same space as Nickel Brook. I recall my first visit in 2016 when you walked in the front door there was a open area with wine making materials and to the left was the Nickel Brook Bottle shop/tap room. It was always a smaller area but it still had a couple tables and you were able to have a pint or a flight. In 2018 that changed. The Wine Experts were bumped out and the tap room was renovated and expanded. The new space include a much larger seating area, more merch, some food to snack on and, gives the brewery plenty of space to hold events. If you aren't a beer drinker Nickel Brook also offers a couple of craft sodas as well. A root beer (which is delicious!) and a ginger beer. Nickle Brook continues to grow and there has been a lot of talk of a new brewery being opened in the Niagara region so Nickel Brook can resume brewing their own core line. From what I've heard, that doesn't mean the end of the of the Burlington location, that will continue to be the Funk Lab. Stay tuned, exciting things are yet to come for this brewery as they continue to be one of the pioneers in the Ontario Craft Beer scene. Jer's Picks To date, I have tried 45 unique beers from Nickel Brook so there will be 3 picks today. Green Apple Beer: It's sentimental value, as I explained above, is clearly a huge factor. This is basically a pilsner and apple juice mixed together but it is so delicious! It came in at 4% ABV and was an easy drinker, a great beer to introduce people to craft beer. Raspberry Uber: The Uber series is a base Berlinerweisse that is aged on fruit. The Raspberry version is my favorite as it uses Canadian raspberries, my favorite fruit. It's sour but not so sour that it's undrinkable and in the summer it is refreshing. I like to put a few frozen raspberries in it to act as an ice cube. Wicked Awesome IPA: In 2017 Nickel Brook released a mystery pack of beer. It had 4 mystery beers that you could try and vote as to which one you liked best. The winner of this contest was this beer. It's a juicy, hazy IPA with citrus and tropical hops and a creamy mouth feel. It's 6.5% so it's not a light beer but it also isn't super strong.
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